Magnus Carlsen, the world No 1, suffered his worst tournament result since 2015 last week, finishing fourth of six in the $178,000 (£133,000) Norway Chess event in Oslo. The 35-year-old lost four games out of 10, attributing his performance to hometown pressures, fatherhood, and time control struggles.
Norway Chess Struggles
Previous editions were held in distant Stavanger, away from Oslo's pressures. Carlsen, now a father, arrived at several games seemingly unprepared and often took too long over opening moves. The fast time control was 40 moves in two hours, then 10 seconds per move increment from move 41. Drawn games were replayed under Armageddon rules, where White had 10 minutes and Black seven, with a draw counting as a win for Black. The scoring system awarded 3 points for a classical win, 1 for a draw, 0 for a loss, 0.5 for an Armageddon win, and 0 for an Armageddon loss.
Carlsen several times used the confession booth to voice thoughts. During one losing game, he summarized his day as: "1 Woke up. 2 Had breakfast. 3 Had a nap. 4 Felt really old." He made a special effort against Gukesh Dommaraju, the Indian 20-year-old world champion who finished last. Their final round game was vintage Carlsen, despite clock mishandling, demonstrating how to win with bishop vs knight and an outside passed pawn.
Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, in last place after six rounds, won four straight games to take first place. His overall form remains strange: stellar 2025 made him a Candidates favorite, but he never contended there. His Oslo success lifts him to No 11 in live ratings, while Gukesh is a dismal 25th. Carlsen has been unchallenged No 1 for 15 years.
Hong Kong Event and Rising Stars
Carlsen's next event is the Fide World Team Rapid and Blitz Championships starting 17 June in Hong Kong, after last year's London edition. Teams of six include mandatory women, junior, and amateur boards. WR, top seeds, include Hou Yifan and Carlsen. The €500,000 event features three young stars: Turkey's Yagiz Kaan Erdogmus (15), Argentina's Faustino Oro (12), and Russia's Roman Shogdzhiev (11).
Erdogmus and Oro are already grandmasters. Shogdzhiev broke an 18-year age record last week by scoring his first GM norm in the Asian Championship at Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. He was unbeaten against six GMs and drew confidently with India's Krishnan Sasikiran. Shogdzhiev now targets the world GM age record of USA's Abhimanyu Mishra (12 years, 4 months). He has about 12 months to score two more GM norms and reach a 2500 rating.
Shogdzhiev was born in Elista, Kalmykia, taught chess by his father at four, home-schooled by his mother, and moved to Moscow for training. He has seven grandmaster coaches, led by two-time Russian champion Evgeny Tomashevsky, who says: "If you play like Roman at 11, it's very close to a unique case." Russia, with no players in the world top 10, plans to restore its chess status with Shogdzhiev as spearhead.
In Hong Kong, Shogdzhiev and Oro will play on junior boards for Chess United, led by former world champion Vishy Anand. Shogdzhiev says of comparisons: "I'm very relaxed... I want to catch up and surpass... We're not friends." His ultimate goal is to become world champion.
The three super-talents are all home-schooled, contrasting with Germany's world No 6 Vincent Keymer, who completed state exams before a qualifier. England's Supratit Banerjee (12) prioritizes homework over chess, while Bodhana Sivanandan (11) achieved success at a state primary school.
Other Chess News
GM Danny Gormally, 50, won silver in the European over-50 senior championship at Acqui Terme, Italy, scoring 6.5/9. His only defeat was to France's top-seeded GM Jean-Marc Degraeve, who scored 7/9. Gormally, a popular streamer and full-time professional, targeted top three for free entry to the 2027 championship.
In the European over-65 championship, Georgia's GM Zurab Sturua won with 7.5/9. GM Keith Arkell finished ninth with 6.5/9, FM Terry Chapman 14th with 6/9, and Scotland's IM Craig Pritchett 20th with 6/9.
Chess history shows world champions are often dominant individuals. The current system faces criticism as the official champion seems inadequate. It remains to be seen whether Sindarov, who challenges Gukesh later this year, can be as impressive as in the Candidates.
Puzzle 4028: Krzysztof Jakubowski v Manuel Petrosyan, European Championship, Katowice 2026. White to move and win. Solution: 1 Rb7! Rxb7 2 Nc6+ Ke8 3 Rxd8 mate. If 1...Rxd4 2 Rxd4+ or 2 Rdc1 should win on material.
